Quinn carefully extricated himself from Megan's bed, being careful not to wake the sleeping child. He glanced at the small Winnie the Pooh clock next to her bed. Jane had been gone around 30 minutes. He hoped everything had gone OK, and neither of them had been caught. Having to break three people out of jail might be a little more than he could handle. It was times like this that he wished Maggie were still around--while her no nonsense approach to things grew tiresome after a while, he had to admit that she did get the job done.

He sighed and stood in the doorway of Megan's room for a moment. He switched off the light switch, then returned to the side of the small bed, gently tucking the blankets around the sleeping child. He stared down at her, lost in thought. This was the only home she and Jane had ever known. Did he have the right to ask them to come with him when he left? And if he did take them with him, then what? Sliding was dangerous--he couldn't ask them to travel with him while they searched for home. And if he did ask them, what would that mean to Jane? Quinn cared about her--she was an incredible woman--but he still loved Wade, still hoped to make a life with her once they returned home. He wanted to be able to maintain a relationship with his daughter, but not at the cost of hurting Jane.

As Quinn stood there, thinking about all of this, he became aware of another set of eyes watching him. He turned quickly, to find Jane standing in the doorway. She smiled at him as she moved to stand beside him. She smoothed the blankets on the bed and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Rembrandt is downstairs. He told me what happened to Wade," she said softly.

"I hate to ask for your help again..." Quinn started, but Jane silenced him.

"Don't worry about it. You need my help. I'm more than happy to give it. After all," she said, picking up Megan's stuffed dog from the floor and placing it beside the child, "you've given me more than I can ever thank you for."

Jane left the room, and Quinn followed her down the stairs. He greeted Rembrandt, wondering how much Jane had told him about their involvement. If she had said anything, Rembrandt gave no indication of it.

The three of them sat at the kitchen table. Quinn started laying out their plan to Jane.

"We need to first of all, find out when she's getting arraigned. I think if we can grab her at the courthouse, we'll have an easier time getting away then we could at the jail," Quinn said.

"It was on the radio on the way over," Jane replied. "She's scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow at 1pm."

"Somehow, we need to get you to Wade," Rembrandt said. looking at Jane. "You'll have to be the one to grab her, for obvious reasons."

"And that is the challenge," Jane said. "Any ideas?"

"Well," Quinn said, thinking for a moment. "If we could get access to a police uniform, it might be easier for you to blend in at the courthouse."

" I think there's a costume shop downtown--I could check there. In fact, two costumes might be better--if I can grab Wade and get her away long enough to change into it, we might be able to just slip out," Jane suggested.

"How long until we slide?" Quinn asked Rembrandt.

Rembrandt pulled the timer out of his pocket. "We slide out of here tomorrow at 3pm."

"OK," Quinn said. "That doesn't give us much time, but if we time it right, we might be able to pull it off." He stood up. "You'll go check for the uniforms in the morning?" he asked Jane.

"Yes," she replied. "The shop opens at 9am. That should be plenty of time to get organized."

Jane then showed them where they could sleep. She only had one guest room, so Quinn decided to camp out on the couch. Jane rummaged through her closets and found some of her husband's old clothes and pajamas, which she took to Rembrandt.

"These should fit," she told them. "They might be a little long for you, since my husband was about Quinn's height. But they'll get you through to the next world."

"Thanks," he said appreciatively. "They'll do just fine."

She smiled at him. "I'd better take these down to Quinn," she said indicating the other clothing items in her arms. "If you need anything, just ask."

Rembrandt thanked her once more, and they said their goodnights. She descended the stairs, where Quinn was in the living room, making a bed on the couch.

"I brought you some clothes and pajamas," she said, extending the clothing in her hands to him.

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her and accepting the clothing.

"Well, goodnight," she said, turning to return to the stairs.

"Jane..wait," Quinn said. "Can I ask you something?"

She turned and looked at him questioningly. "Yes?" she asked.

"Do you...have you ever thought about leaving here? I mean, taking Megan and living somewhere else? Somewhere that might give Megan a chance at a better life?" Quinn asked her.

"Well, Megan and I have a good life here. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a good life. I do wish for some things to be different. I wish that this forced breeding would end sometime in my lifetime--I don't want Megan to have to go through what I had to in order to have a child. Not with you," she said quickly, noticing the look that crossed Quinn's face. "I didn't mean that. I mean the rejection and hassle with the BRP. I want Megan to be able to have a child with someone she loves--not just some name who happened to have an open appointment." She sighed. "But this is Megan's home--I don't know if I could take her away from it. I'm not sure how she'd react in a new place." She sat next to Quinn and took his hand. "Quinn. I know what you are going to ask. But let me ask you this. Could you really leave Megan on another world? Would it be any easier for you then leaving her here?"

"Maybe," Quinn said. "I'd know she was safe."

"She's safe here too, Quinn. She's safe, and happy and loved. I know you care for her," Jane said, standing, "but I have to say no. I can't risk what would happen if I took her away from the only home she's known."

"OK," Quinn said, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to leave his daughter here. "But promise me--if anything...*anything* goes wrong with this plan, where you might get caught, end up in jail, whatever, you are both coming with us."

Jane smiled at his concern. "I promise," she said. She started up the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning. Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

Quinn picked up the pajamas Jane had left lying on the couch, and went into the small downstairs bathroom to change. He returned to the couch and switched off the lights.

As he lay there in the dark, he couldn't shake the feeling that everything wouldn't be fine. Something was going to go wrong...he just couldn't imagine what.

read part 15